The National Sailing Hall of Fame has two champions from Newport Beach being inducted as two legends of this sport. These two names are Dave Ullman, who is 70 years of age and Bill Ficker of 88 years of age. Both these veterans of this profession would be honored along with other inductees of this year in a ceremony that would be held in October at the St Francis Yacht Club in the city of San Francisco.
Ficker is known to be a city planning commissioner in a prior stage as well as an architect of the Newport Beach. He sailed the Intrepid and won the America’s Cup in Newport back in 1970. He was then one of the firsts from the West Coast who won this legendary race.
He has a long line of achievements behind him in the illustrious life he led. He was a co-helmsman as well as a tactician in Columbia when the America Cup trials had been on in 1967. He became a Star World Champion in 1958 as well as a winner in the Congressional Cup in 1974, before setting up a Bareboat charter in Croatia company.
Ullman on the other hand, founded and established Ullman Sails International. He has won about four titles in world tournaments in his lifetime. He was a winning skipper in the Southern Ocean Racing Conference or Admiral’s Cup. He was also a racing champion in the US team, a national champion in the US Men’s Mallory Cup and won the Southern Californian Lipton Cup five times.
He has coached the team that appeared in 2000 America’s Cup as well as the 2003 team. He has coached several other sailing teams in the country. His company, Ullman Sails is a sail making company of repute and operates out of 80 locations across the world since the year 1967.